1994 Caprice Motor Disaster! Please help!

:banghead: :banghead: :banghead: <--- that's all I wanna do right now!

Working on my 1994 Caprice 4.3L, doing tune up, etc., and was
fixing this hissing sound on driver's side engine area. Turned out to be
a broken exhuast manifold bolt, the one that's second from fire wall,
on the rear-most exhaust port. The constant hissing was driving me nuts.

I went to store and bought one of those "easy-out" kits.......YEAH RIGHT!

So here goes:

As I was drilling (or trying to) into the broken bolt, I accidently drilled into
the head and put a hole into the water jacket, so now coolant leaks out of the bolt hole, with the broken bolt still in there.

So before anyone laughs or says "sucks to be you", can anyone give me some advice? What are my options? Is removing the cylinder head now a
must? Can I "JB Weld" the problem? If I need to remove, any tips and tricks? I've done this kinda work before, but on low-tech carb engines. Never done something this extensive on a fuel injected motor.

Thanks in advance.....

Mark

Mark,

It sounds like a job going badly for you. JB Weld or any other epoxy is not likely to be a permanent solution. Removing the head for repairs is probably the best bet, unless you are fortunate enough to have the hole in a reasonably accessible location. If you can drill the hole to a nominal size, then tap the hole for a socket head set screw, you can install a set screw flush with the surface. Apply some PST thread sealant to the screw before installation, then allow it to cure before refillign with coolant.

If there is insufficient space to drill/tap the hole, removing trhe head and welding the hole shut with nickel filler is the best choice.

There is a fairly easy fix for this.

http://www.theherd.com/articles/manifoldbolt.html

The hole is through the bolt into the waterjacket right? Get the bolt out and use a good thread sealer on reassembly.

First things first,and no I'm not being an azzhalf.How did you get that far into a job like that,that left you in this position?The answer might help others decided if they wanna try this or not.In my useless mind there are 2 fixes.If it is your pride and joy and you would not comprimise your sweetie,head off!If it's just your beater,JB weld the bolt in with a damn good manifold in place,BlockSeal it( gunk product) and you should be good to go.Not gonna bash you or demean you but this is case in point for biting off more than you chew.

Blue Bowtie suggestion is your best bet in my opinion. If you can't do it with the head off take the head to a machine shop. They will repair the head for you.
If you need a valve job this is a good time.

Thanks to EVERYONE on this thread! I haven't done anything yet, but I will be heading out to the car in a few minutes. I will reply with the latest results.

Twistedtech ---- it all started with me trying to unbolt the manifolds so that
I can jack up the engine (still gotta get to the motor mounts) so that the
oil pan can slide out. It needs a new gasket and a pick up screen cleaning.
I attempted the manual's way of detaching at the three-bolt manifold/catalytic junction, but those bolts are rusted solid. Plus I wanted to change the plugs and wires as well.

Always use anti seeze on your exhaust bolts on reassembly. That way any future work will be easier. I also use it on spark plugs.

silly question......

Does the intake manifold have to come off when removing a cylinder head?
Again, this is a 1994 Chevy Caprice 4.3L v8.

Thanks

Mark

PS 24 friggin' head bolts! :shakehead

If you want the head to actually come off, then yes. There should be 17 head bolts, 6 exhaust manifold bolts, and 12 intake manifold bolts.

Any recommendations on places to buy gaskets and such?
Advance Auto wants $33.00 for an oil pan Gasket, Autozone wants
$28. I figure there must be a cheaper source.

Thanks again

Mark

Certain machine shops sell gaskets usually cheaper than the parts store.
You can also search the internet.

well, got the manifold and cylinder head off. I'm going to carefully try and
remove the broken bolt again, but prolly take it to a machine shop.

Thanks again to all of you for your help and expertise.

Also, I was wondering....just for fun.....can you actually take this 4.3 LT
motor and bring it back to old school muscle car style setup? As in dual
plane manifold, carb, distributor, etc.? South Carolina doesn't have emissions laws, so I was curious.

Has anyone here done this?

Thanks again

Mark

well, got the manifold and cylinder head off. I'm going to carefully try and
remove the broken bolt again, but prolly take it to a machine shop.

Thanks again to all of you for your help and expertise.

Also, I was wondering....just for fun.....can you actually take this 4.3 LT
motor and bring it back to old school muscle car style setup? As in dual
plane manifold, carb, distributor, etc.? South Carolina doesn't have emissions laws, so I was curious.

Has anyone here done this?

Thanks again

Mark

Why would you want to?

why?

I dunno.....say it was time to junk the caprice, and I wanted to keep
the motor for some hot rod project. Not saying now, but say 10 years
from now when the car's rusted and pooped out.

I was just curious if the LT1 accepts old school type setups like
manifolds, dual quads, etc.

why?

I dunno.....say it was time to junk the caprice, and I wanted to keep
the motor for some hot rod project. Not saying now, but say 10 years
from now when the car's rusted and pooped out.

I was just curious if the LT1 accepts old school type setups like
manifolds, dual quads, etc.

ok, gotcha. No, the LT1 (and L99) are a one-shot design, most components are not interchangeable with other (Gen I) small blocks: heads, intake, block, water pump etc. Unless there is an aftermarket for a carb'ed LT1, you can pretty much count on always running it as an LT1.

I will be removing oil pan from 4.3, and see that I need to detach exhaust
manifold, remove motor mount bolts, and then jack engine up. My question is how? Floor jack? Spare tire jack? Where should I position jack?

Thanks

Mark

If the engine is jacked up put a jack stand under the crank pulley


NOOOOOOOOOO.

This is DANGEROUS FOR SAFETY and damaging to the engine.

You can use a piece of wood on the floor jack to lift the engine by the oil pan, after removing the mount through bolts, and once the engine is lifted about 3-4", you place a block of 4x4 under each engine mount, between the engine and frame mounts and then lower the floor jack.

Thanks for the idea. I'll pick up some 4X4 scraps somewhere

Mark